End of Life Care for Animals and Their People
For those who follow my posts on Facebook, you know we recently had to say goodbye to our beloved border collie, Meg. We were honored that she shared 16+ years with us but even that didn't seem long enough. 
Meg's presence in our life and all whom she met enhanced that person in ways often unrealized until many years later. In the months leading up to her passing and especially near the end, I realized how lucky I was to have so many natural healing methods at my finger tips. Not only did they help Meg prepare for her next journey, but they helped us, her human family members as well. I'm going to share some of these with you now.
Meg's presence in our life and all whom she met enhanced that person in ways often unrealized until many years later. In the months leading up to her passing and especially near the end, I realized how lucky I was to have so many natural healing methods at my finger tips. Not only did they help Meg prepare for her next journey, but they helped us, her human family members as well. I'm going to share some of these with you now.
When we invite an animal to live in our life – particularly one that is to live as an indoor companion, we almost take away their right to die in their own way. Growing up in Kentucky, all of our animals were kept outside. When it came time for them to cross over, we simply didn't see them any longer. Might sound cruel to some, but these animals were allowed to exit this world in their own way, on their own terms. With our in-home companion animals, we take on a responsibility – to help when it comes time for them to exit. The process of dying is very hard work. Dealing with physical, emotional and spiritual changes – all at once can be a lot to do.
For many of us, we focus so much on caring for our animal friend that we forget about ourselves. In my work helping people and their animals, I have found that many times, the animal is holding on to life until they feel their person is at peace with things. For many people, this doesn't come until after the animals has passed meaning their animal may hold on for longer than they should – just to be there for their person. But by using some of natures energies, you can prepare yourself and your animal for a beautiful and deeply special transition. For me and Meg, it was an alchemistic approach since I used a combination of flower essences (from Green Hope Farm), healing crystals, Reiki, Shamanic Healing work, essential oils and of course, lots of love.
The Green Hope Flower Essence blends of Senior Citizen, Transition and Painkiller were invaluable. I could easily add these to her water, food and stroke them on her coat. She was a determined soul and refused any medications (other than "natural" liquids) for the last couple of years. Senior Citizen is a blend of essences designed to help the body (and mind) deal with declining functions. It can help with the emotions of losing hearing and eyesight as well as mobility. The blend of Transition is to help with big changes in life or in this case, the change from life to death and beyond. People have asked if by giving this blend can make an animal die in an untimely fashion. No, flower essences can do no harm. This blend helps prepare the mind, body and spirit for the eventuality of end of physical life. Sometimes, animals need this blend for months or even years to prepare. The Painkiller flower essence is just as it states – it helps control pain. These three things blended together and energized with Reiki was something Meg got several times a day for over a year.
We all used the essential oil blend of Valor. This blend from Young Living helps instill courage, confidence and is very grounding. It also helps keep us humans focused and ensures that when decisions needed to be made, we made them with a calm and peaceful heart. For Meg, Valor helped her have the courage to continue and to start down this new path. I also used Palo Santo and Release (blend) essential oils. I used these oils during the last week of her life as they can help an animal that is ready to cross-over (either physically or spiritually) be at peace with this event and let go. I was careful to let her sniff the bottle cap very far from her nose (probably 2 feet.) Meg's eyesight and hearing were nearly gone which made her sense of smell very strong. I had to be very careful on the use of essential oils with her as they are so powerful, many times too strong for her enhanced sniffer. I did, however, use them on me. When I spent time with her, she got small amounts of the scent. I also put a drop in my hand and petted her. Her beautiful curly fur acted as a wick and drew the essential oils into her body. I took care to not pet her up near her nose as that would be upsetting to her. For the rest of the household, I diffused Peace & Calming, Acceptance and Harmony (all blends). For more in-depth information on End of Life care using Essential Oils, you can listen to my three part, pre-recorded class offered through Animal Spirit Network. Just click here to be taken to the details.
She was my greatest teacher until the very end. Pushing me to explore other avenues, different than the ones I knew about and had experienced before. By following her direction, I also used crystals, Reiki and had amazing effects with some Shamanic work I did for her. I'll talk about these in the next post. For now, Meg and I challenge you to think about end of life care with a new perspective. Think about lovingly preparing everyone for this event and laying the groundwork to have a graceful and beautiful journey that can free the soul.
I custom blend flower essences using the Green Hope Farm essences. I energize each blend with the healing power of Reiki for extra healing. Contact me if you'd like a custom blend for your animal or if you would like a personalized consultation using any of the healing options I've mentioned in the post.
Another very helpful website and resource is Teresa Wagner who specializes in Pet Loss Grief and Support. Her website is full of loving resources. Click here to visit Animals in Our Heart.
One Comment
Bridget
I really love the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. Very interesting.